Happy 57th birthday, “Long Hair”, Leung Kwok-hung!

I want to wish “Long Hair”, Leung Kwok-hung, happy 57th birthday, good health and all the best! Here is my 2005 documentary “Long Hair Revolution” filmed only two months after his election to Legislative Council of Hong Kong. I’m happy to say my first documentary has been added to the federal government “Library and Archives Canada” permanent collection in Ottawa.

Long Hair Revolution 長毛革命 @ national archive of Canada

Doctor and medical student interrupt Minister Joe Oliver at press conference

My personal thanks to the doctor and medical student who spoke up on our behalf. Shame on our Canadian government. Shame on us Canadians that we are not more aware of this problem. Canadians are BETTER than the actions of our current government in power!

According to the YouTube clip info, the names of the doctor and medical student speaking up are Chris Keefer and Faria Kamal respectively. I applaud Chris and Faria’s brave protest, risking retribution from the Harper government and their hospital administration.

Shame on Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Doctor and medical student interrupt Minister Joe Oliver at press conference

See CBC News, “Refugee health cuts protest cuts off Oliver announcement“

TorStar, “A new low for refugees in Canada“

The issue (a website) as posted in the YouTube clip info.

Ai Weiwei: Artist & Dissident – Time Person of the Year Runner-Up

TIME, Ai Weiwei: The Dissident – Time Person of the Year Runner-Up

“For 81 days last spring and summer, Ai Weiwei was China’s most famous missing person. Detained in Beijing while attempting to catch a flight to Hong Kong on April 3, Ai, an artistic consultant for the iconic Bird’s Nest stadium, was held almost entirely incommunicado and interrogated some 50 times while friends and supporters around the world petitioned for his release. On Nov. 1, Ai, who says the case against him is politically motivated, was hit with a $2.4 million bill for back taxes and penalties. Two weeks later, he paid a $1.3 million bond with loans from Chinese supporters who contributed online and in person and even tossed cash over the walls of his studio in northeast Beijing.

The son of a revolutionary poet, Ai, 54, has grown more outspoken in recent years, expressing his anger at abuses of power and organizing online campaigns, including a volunteer investigation into the deaths of children in schools that collapsed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. His detention came amid a broad crackdown on activists by the Chinese government meant to stamp out a call for Arab Spring–inspired pro-democracy protests as well as continuing unrest in the Tibetan regions, where 12 people have set themselves on fire since March to protest Chinese policies.

Ai, who speaks excellent if not quite flawless English, sat down on Dec. 12 with TIME’s Hannah Beech and Austin Ramzy — and a calico cat, one of nearly two dozen cats and dogs at his studio — to discuss his detention, the poetry of Twitter and whether China is immune to the global forces of protest and revolution. [...]

If you had a chance to go overseas, would you?

I have to evaluate, Is it better to stay in a jail here or go abroad? If you go, you really have to say goodbye.

You feel you wouldn’t be allowed back?

Not only that. I’m afraid I would lose the sensitivity to this reality. There are so many things you can do in life, and of course, activist isn’t my top choice. I think I would lose touch with here, and I certainly feel I owe a lot of people. If I can make a good effort, I would continue to do that.”

New Quote I Love and early 101th birthday wish to professor Ronald Coase

Here is a new addition to Quotes I Love,

“New ideas are most likely to come from the young who are also the group who are most likely to recognize the significance of those ideas.” - Ronald Coase in his 2003 Coase Lecture

Photo credit: by Zhaofeng Xue (薛兆丰) 2009

And I like to send an early Happy Birthday and All the Best wish to Professor Coase, for his up coming 101th birthday on 29th December, 2011! And I am looking forward to the upcoming (Feb 2012) book “How China Became Capitalist” co-authored by Prof. Coase and Ning Wang. Yes, Prof. Coase is going to be 101 years old and he is still working and writing!

The following is an insightful 2003 talk by Prof. Coase when he was _only_ 93 years old! :) (See this entry for all six video clips and time codes plus descriptions.)

2003 Coase Lecture by Ronald Coase – Part 1/6

Lytro Picture Revolution – In its founder and CEO Ren Ng’s words

Highly recommend you read this dpreview article, “Lytro’s Ren Ng sheds some light on the company’s ambitions“. Here is an excerpt,

“Lytro’s announcement that it will be launching a plenoptic ‘light field’ camera that allows images to be re-focused after they’ve been taken, was met with equal amounts of interest and skepticism. Interested to find out more, we spoke to the company’s founder and CEO, Ren Ng, to hear just what he has planned and how far towards a product the company has got.”

***

Sept 7, 2011 update: Reuters video interview, “California company brings sharper focus to photography“

Economist, “Cameras get cleverer – Consumer electronics: New approaches to photography treat it as a branch of computing as well as optics, making possible a range of new tricks“

Kevin Roberts, CEO worldwide Saatchi & Saatchi keynotes nextMEDIA Toronto 2011

I’ve been reading Kevin Roberts‘s ideas for years and even created Kevin’s Wikipedia page. So it is wonderful to see Kevin is coming to Canada to share his insights. The following is from the nextMEDIA Toronto 2011 (Dec 5 – 6) press release. If you are in Toronto during that time, register to attend.

“CEO worldwide for creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi, Kevin Roberts is a marketing pioneer with a heart for nostalgia and has been bringing popular brands to market and straight into consumers’hearts since the early 1970s. Roberts has worked with large-scale international clients such as Carlsberg, TMobile, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Sony Ericsson, JCPenney, Toyota and VISA Europe among others.

Roberts is the author of a number of best-selling books, including Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands, in which he describes the emotional connections we create with the brands we’ve grown tolove.

So, here’s the real question: How does your brand achieve Lovemark status? Well, fear not, Roberts is heading to nextMEDIA Toronto this year to help you solve that very problem.

Named one of the top ten ideas of the decade in 2010 by advertising and marketing news website AdAge, Lovemarks transcend brands, leaving their iconic symbols emblazoned in the hearts and memories of consumers worldwide.

Join Kevin Roberts at nextMEDIA Toronto 2011 for an informative keynote session about hisLovemarks theory, offering crucial insight into the future of marketing and an analysis of the way we identify with our favourite brands.”

Inspired by …

Here is a list of people & song that is currently inspiring me.

(Borrowing and expanding an idea from Wired magazine.)

[Note: I've added this list to the About Kempton page.]

Thinker: Marshall McLuhan

Artist: Oscar Claude Monet

Investor: Warren Buffett

Inventor: James Dyson

Entrepreneurial creativeness: Richard Branson

Advertiser: Kevin Roberts

Hotel: Four Seasons, Issy Sharp

Fashion: Fashion TV

Song: Firework by Katy Perry

My Google+ Bragging Rights

My updated Google+ Bragging rights sounds cool to the very biased me:

Kempton’s first feature-length documentary Long Hair Revolution (2005) is preserved in Library and Archives Canada‘s permanent collection “for the benefit of present and future generations”.

Watch Long Hair Revolution free online here.

Videos of Malcolm Gladwell at Cannes Lions 2011

I find Malcolm Gladwel‬l insightful and worth my time in considering his ideas and arguments. Have a watch of the following videos.

Malcolm Gladwell at Cannes Lions 2011

The video and audio may not be perfect but it is still a great speech to listen to.

Malcolm Gladwell at Cannes Lions 2011 1/3

Malcolm Gladwell at Cannes Lions 2011 2/3

Malcolm Gladwell at Cannes Lions 2011 3/3

Malcolm Gladwell 2011 Honorary Degree Recipient Speech at University of Toronto

Malcolm Gladwell (Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers) got a free degree from University of Toronto, his and my alma mater, and we the public get a free Gladwell story, not a bad deal. (Great story, worth watching again after first viewing: time code 5:58)

Happy 100th birthday, Marshall McLuhan in his own (and others’) words!

Happy 100th birthday, Marshall McLuhan! [HT Gary]

Have a look of Open Culture,”Marshall McLuhan: The World is a Global Village“

Marshall McLuhan – The World is a Global Village (CBC TV)

Check out “Tom Wolfe on Marshall McLuhan for His 100th Would-Be Birthday“

Have a listen to CBC Jian Ghomeshi opening Q essay, “Jian on Marshall McLuhan’s 100th birthday”

Payment Card Industry: Square by Twitter Cofounder Jack Dorsey

I try to keep up with the latest development in the payment card industry because I think it is important. Last night, I found something call Square that looks pretty cool and worth checking out some more. Here is an excerpt from Wired Magazine “Twitter Cofounder Shakes Up the Credit Card Biz” (emphasis added),

His new company began with similarly modest aims: give anyone the ability to accept credit card payments through a tiny reader that plugs into their iPads and smartphones. Called Square, it has signed up hundreds of thousands of merchants and processed $66 million in transactions in the first quarter of 2011 alone. The startup is also building a vast database of financial information that its customers can tap into. [Kempton's note: The transaction processed is one thing ($66 million for a new gadget). What is as interesting is the financial information Square tracks.] It tracks each sale conducted through its credit card readers, allowing the company to calculate everything from the busiest sales day of the week (Saturday) to the average price of a cappuccino ($3.09 as of April 18).

The power of that kind of data analysis helps explain why Square was able to close a second round of funding in January: $27.5 million fromSequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, and others, which valued the young company at $240 million. Then Visa invested an undisclosed sum in April. [Kempton: I like the Visa investment. Interesting to know: "how much" & "under what terms"?] .Wired sat down with Dorsey at Square’s offices in downtown San Francisco.

Wired: You got the idea for Square after an artist friend lost a $2,000 sale because he couldn’t process credit cards.

Jack Dorsey: Right now there are about 8 million merchants in the US that accept credit cards. That doesn’t include people who do transactions over craigslist or dog walkers or people fund-raising for the PTA. There is such untapped demand. Like, we had a couch in the office that was really ugly, and we sold it for $5,000, and we accepted a credit card. There are moments in life when that’s necessary. And that’s what we’re focused on.

Ariel Garten, CEO InteraXon, interview @ Banff World Media Festival 2011

I had a very enjoyable time attending Ariel Garten’s (CEO of InteraXon) NextMedia Keynote address: Thought Controlled Computing @ Banff World Media Festival 2011. Afterwards, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ariel. Here is the interview video.

The following are a few highlights of my video interview with Ariel.

* 0:00 In your presentation, some ideas are very cutting-edge and quite “out-there”. When you meet corporate clients, how do you engage them and bring them down to earth?

* 1:03 Talking about the chewing gum example (the “chew off”) discussed in your presentation, can you tell us more and which brand it was? What does InteraXon actually measure? [Kempton's note: The chewing gum campaign went live on June 16th. At press time, I haven't heard any updates from InteraXon.]

* 2:20 So does the software system work by basing on its previous training of brainwave signals?

* 2:48 How accurate is the software? Lets take heart rate as an example because it is easy to know what is right.

* 3:16 You mentioned the system has limitations, can you elaborate on the kind of limitations please? [Kempton: Here are some reading about Alpha (relax "awake but relaxed") and Beta (focus "alert and attentive") brain waves. And via Wikipedia, Alpha and Beta.]

* 3:48 Ariel talks about the reliability in using Alpha and Beta brain waves, especially for new users.

* 4:05 What other signals can your system use?

* 4:25 Am I using the right analogy to compare the “training” your system undergoes to the “training” speech recognition system needed in the past?

* 4:52 Someone asked Ariel about the possibility of using brainwaves for security authentication purposes. How unique are brainwaves? Can it be done now? If not now, how may it work in the future?

What happen to a Lovemark when the love was lost?

First of all, I’ve been a long time admirer and reader of Kevin Roberts‘ ideas in advertising, branding, and marketing, all in all, safe to say I’m a big fan of Kevin. Recently, I found it very cool that Kevin’s idea of Lovemark has gained acceptance in business schools that even my neighbour’s university marketing class is teaching the concept of Lovemark! It puts a big smile on my face to think that I was responsible in creating the first Wikipedia entry for Lovemark when Kevin’s book first came out in 2006 (yes, time flies and that was 5 years ago)!

Love Lost

Back to the reason for writing this article. I want to bring up the important question of “What happen to a Lovemark when the love was lost?“

Part of me understand why Kevin hasn’t talked much about love lost in the two Lovemark books or in his writing. After all, it is more engaging & positive to focus on the good and inspiring. Also, it is probably bad business to talk about “love lost” when trying to sell to clients.

So I guess it is up to independent “practitioners” of Lovemarks, like myself, to try to point out that it can’t be all love all the time! As with any “meaningful love“, there has to be risk of love lost, or cases where love was actually lost. I think it is important for each of us, if not collectively, to keep a list of Lovemarks that are no longer loved.

In my list of admired companies, you will see Apple Computer and Lexus had been removed and are no longer on my list of Lovemarks. I know I will have more Lovemarks in the future, and I also realized that it is unrealistic to ignore love lost.

In memory of the love lost

Here is “Love Lost“ by The Temper Trap.

Here is the lyrics of Love Lost. If you read it or listen to the song beyond the title, I think it actually contains a message of hope.

Our love was lost
But now we’ve found it
Our love was lost
And hope was gone

Talk by Tom Hulme, Design Director @ IDEO, founder of OpenIDEO

Talk by Tom Hulme, Design Director @ IDEO, founder of OpenIDEO. Highly recommended.

NYT 10th Annual Year in ideas

Check out the very interesting and interactive New York Times 10th Annual Year in ideas.

HK League of Social Democrats Party in Calgary (include video interviews)

Hong Kong‘s League of Social Democrats (in short, LSD, and yes, the founders named the party in a tongue-in-cheek manner) chairman Andrew To, vice-chair Avery Ng, and general secretary Gavin Kwai visited Calgary in August. I took the opportunity to meet with them and interview them.

Whether you agree or disagree with LSD‘s ideas or actions, it has become a new political force in Hong Kong with its confrontational leaders’ “non-traditional” ideas and younger, louder, and fearless supporters. For example, LSD was a key proponent of “Five Constituencies Referendum“, a de facto referendum in Hong Kong where the Beijing Chinese government despised and the Hong Kong government did its best to discourage and ignore even by law it has to pay for it. Yes, the Referendum was a HK government sanctioned and paid-for election where it actually discouraged people to vote or participate.

Because of LSD‘s loud and confrontational protests, and in the eyes of LSD “the biased HK media”, the party doesn’t get much positive media coverage, actually much media coverage in HK (they are “ignored”). And possibly because of LSD‘s younger and more online savvy organizers and members, they have a very active presence online in YouTube videos and internet radio station. Effectively, they distribute their own “news” and information directly to people interested in their policies or views. I think Canadian political parties and politicians from all three levels can learn something here.

To understand LSD and its supporters better, I interviewed Andrew, Avery, and Gavin in English so that English speaking viewers can understand LSD in its leaders’ own words unfiltered. I’ve also interviewed them in Chinese, feel free to check out the Cantonese interviews here.

P.S. On a personal note, the subject of my 2005 Calgary International Film Festival screened documentary “Long Hair Revolution” (full film viewable online) was Leung Kwok Hung (Long Hair), the first Legislative Council elected member of the LSD party before the party was created.

$180,000 Porsche Crash by Globe journalist’s son: Best ad in 2010

I love good advertising and I think Porsche just hit the jackpot with this $180,000 Porsche Crash and has just taken the top spot of being my best ad of 2010! Best ad? Well, let me explain.

To me, the best ads are those you don’t pay a dime for the medium and don’t even plan (but you need to handle it well and have a bit of “luck”). The next best ads are those that you don’t pay (or don’t pay much) but plan meticulously (see VW’s Fun Theory ads). The least favourite type of ads for me are those that you pay mega big bucks to get the obvious “best coverage” (front pages in newspapers, TV prime time slots, etc).

If you think about it correctly, the purpose of any ads are to get our attention. The following accidental $180,000 Porsche crash by Globe journalist’s son costed Porsche a tiny $11,000 (initial body shop estimate) and this is a “cost” with profit built-in, so it will cost Porsche likely much less than $11,000.

I am happy that Mr. Rick Bye (manager of the Porsche press fleet) and Porsche made the right decisions. Congrats to Porsche for your injury-free $180,000 crash!

In my chart, your “ad” has just beat Alec Brownstein’s $6 Google reverse job ad for its Canadian and worldwide potential impact and because yours had the added advantage of not being planned at all!

Congrats Porsche, you’ve earned a free link from this blog!

Globe journalist’s son crashes $180,000 Porsche - Take an expensive sports car, a curious teen and a garage door – and mix together to get one very embarrassed automotive writer

[The following is an excerpt, also check out this video report of the crash]

“Some moments are lived backwards. The great ones run through your mind like a favourite movie. Then there are the other kind, where you try to roll back the clock – like the afternoon my teenage son launched a brand new Porsche Turbo through our garage door.

So far, I have not managed to invent a time machine, go back, and snatch the key from his hands (and in case you were wondering, the car goes for $180,000, not including freight, tax or a new garage).

That day began with deceptive perfection. I woke up in a sunlit bedroom next to my beautiful wife. We had celebrated 26 years of marriage just the day before. Our cherry tree was in full blossom, and in the garage, locked away like a crown jewel, was a 2010 Porsche 997 Turbo, the latest (and costliest) in a long series of test cars.

[... And here come the funny bites. ...] Will stuck his head into the office and asked me if he could show his buddy the Turbo. I told him to go ahead. He and his friends always checked out my cars. Their main focus seemed to be the interior and stereo systems – details I barely cared about.

I went back to my computer. My car buddies knew I’d been at the track with the Turbo, and they wanted my verdict. I told one it was like a tiger in an Armani suit – killer chassis, unbeatable power, but suave and comfortable, too.

I shut down my computer and prepared to head to the office, smiling at the thought of a few minutes in the Turbo. As I headed out the back door, I saw my son running toward the house. His eyes were the size of dinner plates. He sputtered: “Dad, the Porsche … the Porsche …”

I thought the Turbo had been stolen. Our garage has a full security system, but this is one of the most desirable cars in the world, so you never know. Will tried to speak again. “The Turbo rolled into the door….” I walked past him into the garage.

For nearly a minute, I was too dumbfounded to speak. The Turbo hadn’t rolled into the door – it had launched itself through the entire structure. In a distance of approximately four feet, the Turbo had developed enough kinetic energy to blow the entire door apart. Parts of the roller mechanism were scattered through the alley. Dazed, I picked up a bent metal piece – it looked like a Crazy Bone, a toy Will had collected as a little boy.

When I parked it, the Turbo had been pristine. Now it looked like the car from Dukes of Hazzard after a chase through the southern backwoods. Stunned, I surveyed the damage. The hood was raked with gouges, the top of the right front fender was flattened, and the driver’s door (which is made from aluminum to save weight) had taken a beating. Worst of all was the rear fender, which had hit the concrete door frame as the Turbo launched itself into the alley – it looked like a giant blacksmith had smacked it with a sledge hammer.

[...] Postscript:

My son has agreed to do a minimum of one week’s labour for Mr. Bye

Initial body shop estimate for the 2010 Porsche Turbo – $11,000 plus taxes.

My garage door was replaced last week, along with the door tracks, opener and door frame. I spent seven hours working alongside the installer. Total cost was $2,700. My insurance deductible was $500. I lose my no-claims insurance discount for three years.

Later this summer, based on his schedule, my son will attend Apex driving school, where he will be trained in advanced car control and learn to drive a standard transmission.”

Inspiring Bud

I recently discovered a very interesting and insightful advertising executive from Hong Kong, his pen name at Apple Daily and his blog is Bud (畢明). I saw the following interesting & inspiring YouTube videos from Bud’s blog. Enjoy and thanks Bud.

Message on a fly! This one is super cool! Apparently the string holding the message to the fly is made of biodegradable material! [HT Bud]

What a slick BBC Winter Olympics ad! Very creative. [HT Bud]

This is an AXE ad so if you want political correctness, this one is NOT for you! :) [HT Bud]

A cute AmEx ad (but I think my lowly “free with cash back” VISA card has the same advantages)! [HT Bud]

Here is something from Bud’s blog, “畢明 ‧所以‧廣告 – Life is too short”

“做廣告，受薪胡思亂想；戲痴，傻+癲的，在各大報章愛恨電影；多元字作，專欄通通畢氏腦作。相信磊落、就快樂。 奉行 Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish, Work hard, Play HarDer!!! “

A great entry re “80後的廣告“, very insightful observations and comments.

Steps to defend Canadian Parliamentary Democracy

When our Parliamentary is being attacked by prime minister stephen harper, it is our duty as Canadians to defend our Parliamentary Democracy.

Steps:

1) Pay attention to news.

2) Get involved.

3) And go to vote at election time.

4) Have a read of Justin Trudeau’s “Find Some Principles“.

5) And for today, read and follow Kady’s liveblog of this roundtable in Ottawa with special guest professors Daniel Weinstock (read this open letter now signed by 200+ professors) and Peter Russell, as well as Canadians Against Prororuging Parliament Facebook group founder Christopher White (see Chris’ draft version of his prepared text here).

Here is an excerpt from Kady’s liveblog, please read her coverage in full and not simply the excerpt here.

*** 10:32 ***

“Over to Christopher White, who starts out by noting that it’s a little odd to be sitting up there alongside constitutional experts with more than a century of public service; a guy who started a Facebook group. Which prompts gentle laughter from the audience, of course; White does, however, express some contentment that his efforts have highlighted the role of new media. He then goes through some of the big issues that keep being raised on the discussion group — voter turnout, in particular — as well as the need for electoral reform. There’s a disconnect, he notes — and to bridge the gap, we need a citizen assembly – like those that took place in BC and Ontario – rather than simply leaving it to people organizing in libraries. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. He also confesses that, despite obediently watching Heritage minutes and perusing online resources, he’s still a little bit fuzzy on exactly how this place works. He suggests some sort of independently-managed, scrupulopusly nonpartisan website that would explain the basics of parliamentary democracy to everyone, rather than forcing people to sift through the “byzantine” (good word, and appropriate too) government website. Oh, come over here and let me tell you about the outrageous continuing absence of online Hansard back to Confederation.”

*** 10:37 ***

“White is going through his list of suggestions — from supporting smaller parties and independent candidates to reducing the number of cabinet ministers to being *just* supportive of someone like him speaking out against Michael Ignatieff, if (when) he merits it. He also has some words for us — we-the-media, that is — and implores us to be clear when we find ourselves obstructed by PMO and the government. (See? Apparently *someone* does want to hear us kvetch!) He ends with a cheery declaration of his love for Canada, and gets an equally cheery round of applause in response. Jennings assures him that just because he’s here doesn’t mean he can’t criticize the Liberals — including past, present and future leaders — and insists that they actually *welcome* dissent. Just ask the media who cover their endless caucus disputes.”